Many greetings from the land of the rising sun. I have some big news this month for you all and it is news that is going to be changing my schedule a little bit.
But first, I want to thank you all for your prayers for the outreaches that we are planning. The Horizon Cafe went very well. Out of the ten to twelve children that come to shine kids, six were able to make it to the event. This marks the largest amount of Shine Kids and parents to come to a church event that I can remember. And we are praying that this would be just the beginning. The children were able to give a performance of the song "This little light of mine" which they have been practicing. Included is a video of the performance. They were also able to stay after, talk with some people, eat lunch with us, and play some of the carnival games that we had set up for the kids. They all seemed like they had a good time and seemed comfortable in the church setting which is a step in the right direction. Please keep praying for our guidance in church events in the future. We are planning a Christmas event for the shine kids on the 18th of December that I would ask you to pray for. Also, please pray for the next semester of Shine Kids that will be starting from the end of January.
Also I want to ask you all to pray for the Gospel Cafe. Lately on Wednesday nights, before the bible study, we have been having what we call the English cafe. It is a hour and a half where the whole cafe and staff switches over to English and Japanese people can come in and practice their English for free. I usually just sit at the tables and talk with people. And it has been a amazing time. Their are always a lot of people coming in and their has been a lot of good conversations and chances to share the gospel and my testimony. Pray especially for the few regulars that keep coming back every week. Some have been touched by the Gospel and even moved to tears, but they still have not accepted Jesus into their heart. Pray that God would be growing the seeds that have been planted in their heart and that they would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.
I ask that you would keep the future of Horizon in prayer as well. The dynamics of the church have been changing lately and I think it is God's work. If something is alive, it always changes and grows and so it is good to expect constant change and growth in the church. For some time their has been a gap between the Japanese and English services. The two groups are under the same roof, but aside from me and a few others, their has been no real crossover between them. But their is movement among the church to start changing that. We want to start integrating not only events, but other times together. Praying about bilingual services and other ways we can bring the two groups together. Separated, their is not a lot of progress to be made, but when brought together, I think that God will use the time to stir up fires in peoples hearts and give people new passion for ministry. When the logs of the fire are gathered together, the fire burns brightest and things get red hot. Please pray for guidance and wisdom during this time and pray that God would work in hearts towards unity in His church
But now to the big news for this month... The Lord has seen fit to bless Tomoko and I with a baby ^_^!!! My wife Tomoko is now eight weeks pregnant. The due date has been set to be around July 6th of next year, one day before our one year anniversary. We ask you all to please pray for the protection and blessing of our child and for the preparation of our hearts for being parents. Naturally my wife's pregnancy changes our schedule a little bit. The doctors here have said that it would be safer for the baby if we wait until she is three months along before we try to travel. Because of this, we are going to have to push back our visit to America until January. We we let you all know when we set the date.
Thank you all for your prayers and support and encouragement. I pray all is well with you and that God would be lighting fires in the church their as well. I pray that their would be a lot of blessed fellowship their, that you would encourage one another and lift each other up to God. I pray that you would be filled with God's love while you bear each other's burdens and that people would take notice of your care and concern and love for one another.
Peace to you my brothers,
Alex
P.S. Here are the shine kids performing!!! Enjoy!
